My pal and golf partner/opponent of 25 years, Rich Talerico, has a running gag. Whenever the club he reaches for doesn’t smoothly slide from his bag, he figures it’s a sign: “God doesn’t want me to hit that club.”

There is a glow from his bag, but that may have more to do with its lime green color than anything mystical, magical or spiritual.

That brings us to football as religion, and whether we’ve lost sight of the separation of church and fate. Saturday, after Arizona State, at home, defeated Notre Dame, ABC/ESPN reporter Todd McShay had ASU coach Todd Graham for a chat. Didn’t matter what McShay asked, Graham was ready with his “answer.”

“Well, first of all, man, I just wanna thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, for allowing me to coach this team. And I’m gonna tell you this: He has had His hands on us.”

With the coach of the Sun Devils having dished a layup, McShay passed on a Golden Dome opportunity to follow with, “Even against Notre Dame?”

That Jesus has his hands on ASU’s football team may explain its eight wins, but leaves its 62-27 home loss to UCLA to spiritual speculation, as do the arrests of ASU players for charges ranging from DUI to domestic assault.

I’m not suggesting folks such as Graham cheapen and trivialize both religion and people of faith for holding a self-anointed “He-has-chosen-me” position, and that God’s regard for a coach or all else is a matter of great mutual regard. … Well, yes, I am suggesting that.

Apparently there is no separation of church and Arizona State. And given the Sun Devils play in what’s known as Death Valley, Notre Dame, unlike UCLA, had no shot. From Psalms 23: As they “walk through the valley of the shadow of death ….”

And as long as Coach Graham, through his special relationship, knows that “He has His hands on us,” he might want to remind upper-case Him that illegal use of the hands can cost lower-case him half-the-distance to the goal.

Celebration getting ‘out of hand’

SPORTS WORLD Gone Nuts, Continued: Saturday on ESPN, Utah WR Kaelin Clay was running for a long touchdown when he stylishly dropped the ball — at the 1! As Clay, teammates and 45,000 celebrated the “TD,” Oregon ran it back 99 yards for a TD. Instead of 14-0, it became 7-7. With the 14-point swing, Utah eventually was hammered, 51-27.

Before that, Alabama-LSU, a minute left in regulation, 10-10 game. LSU, off a second-and-goal from the 6, was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. OL Vadal Alexander had extended a post-whistle, macho-stupid hassle.

CBS’s Gary Danielson blamed the refs: “If it’s the second guy pushing [back], I’d be upset.” He then determined the official who threw the flag has “rabbit ears.”

But he didn’t need ears, only eyes. And it wasn’t the “second guy” shoving, it was the fifth or sixth. The officials had ended the hassle. Only Alexander persisted.

LSU had to kick a field goal, ’Bama tied it with three seconds left, won it in OT. Our “sports culture” in action!

While it has no chance of being a Top 10 on ESPN, here’s to Arizona State’s Demario Richard. After catching a TD pass to clinch it against Notre Dame, he tossed the ball to the back judge. That was it. Son, you’ll never get a Nike deal — or an ESPY — that way.

It’s far easier to watch and listen to ND’s road games because its home games belong to NBC, where they’re dissected (butchered, eviscerated) by Mike Mayock. On ABC/ESPN, Sean McDonough and Chris Spielman mostly spoke plain football, free from the dozens of “I,” “me” and “my” filibusters that would make Mayock a burden on a pack mule.

On the other hand, Kevin Harlan, who called CBS’s Steelers-Jets — he doesn’t call games as much as he sounds as if he’s conducting an auction of them — just talks. Of Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell: “He’ll probably set a rookie record for the Steelers with receptions.” Impossible; he’s not a rookie.

Later Harlan referenced the Jets’ secondary as “much-maligned — and rightly so.” Again, impossible; to malign, let alone much-malign, is to slander or libel, to “speak or write harmful untruths.”

Fox’s Joe Buck, Sunday: “Seattle has allowed only three rushing touchdowns all season.” Hey Joe, before the Giants’ Andre Williams next scored on a handoff, how many others had first-and-goal from the 2!?

A-Rod speaks, and his supporters go mute

IS there no accountability among those who demand to be counted?

Hispanic clergy and members of Hispanics Across America, 13 months ago, demonstrated here on behalf of Alex Rodriguez. They claimed Rodriguez was being persecuted and prosecuted because of his ethnicity. Didn’t matter that he’d previously lied about his homer-helper drug use, they and their leaders got lots of attention; they were seen and heard.

And got had. So where are they now? They’re pulling a Mike Francesa; it never happened. Lost tapes. On to the next show.

Speaking of Sitting Bull, a reader who signs “Kenzo,” writes that he can forgive anything from Rodriguez “except lying to Francesa. That’s the lowest thing I’ve experienced in my life. How could he — anyone — lie to Mike?”

The graphic: Wilkins had averaged 3.4 carries, 15.6 yards, no TDs. But Saturday: 10 carries, 171 yards, one TD. Clearly, he benefited from a visitors’ payday mismatch. Didn’t matter to Cox, who said/asked, “You really wanted to get the running game established today. What was working for the running part today?”